Gaya, May 25: If James Bond had his Little Nellie, Maoist-hunters in Gaya now have their Netra.

A small toy-like aircraft, Netra will now keep a close watch on Maoists hiding in the dense forests or hills in Gaya. The Union government has made available Netra, the small aircraft costing Rs 43 lakh, to the CRPF’s 159th battalion in Gaya.

Netra weighs only 1.5kg. It is equipped with cameras that can function both in daytime and at night. Besides other facilities, it has global positioning system.

The one-seater wonder plane of Bond — Little Nellie — used by him in You Only Live Twice to locate the secret hideout of an enemy space programme also had several facilities. The plane, fitted by all Bond gadgets like air-to-air missiles and rocket launchers, helped the British agent to ward off enemy helicopters.

Sources said the speciality of Netra is that it can take pictures from a height of about 2km from the ground. Positioned in the air, it can cover a radius of around 2km.

Sources in the CRPF confirmed that Netra had been made available to the 159th battalion in the district. But CRPF or the district police officers did not comment on the issue owing to security reasons.

Sources told The Telegraph that Netra was used during the combing operation against the rebels in forests and the hilly areas of Dumaria and Imamganj police stations of the district on Tuesday and Wednesday. The activities of the Maoists were seen on the computer screen with the help of cameras installed in Netra.

“Once the hideouts of the rebels are located, a more effective combing operation can be launched against them,” a CRPF officer said. Most parts of the Naxalite-affected Dumaria, Bankebazaar, Imamganj and Barachatti blocks under Sherghati sub-division in Gaya, along the Bihar-Jharkhand border, have been identified as Red bastion.

Battery-run Netra is operated with the help of a computer and it can be stopped at any place mid-air. Equipped with high-resolution cameras, the aircraft automatically manages pictures. For night hours, Netra is equipped with thermal cameras. If the battery charge becomes low, it automatically goes back to the place from where it was launched. Another important feature of Netra is that it makes very little sound.

The CRPF sources said the aircraft was so far available only in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

First experiment of such toy aircraft was made in Chhattisgarh. Later, it was included in the armoury of Jharkhand. At present, two such toy aircraft are available with the security forces in Jharkhand.